Specialized’s New Venge ViAS Will Make You Faster

Aerodynamic claims are nothing new in cycling. You can barely turn around in a bike shop without spotting some product that its makers claim will save you X seconds in a 40km time trial.

But those claims are often as slippery as the air they pass through. Save a minute compared to what? How did the manufacturer arrive at that figure? And most frustrating of all to those who buy it, how do you know you’re actually faster?

So Specialized’s claim around its new Venge ViAS definitely caught our attention. With the new bike, including wheels and tires, and a cycling kit that includes their new shoes, skinsuit and existing Evade helmet, the company promised we’d be five minutes faster in a 40km time trial. What’s more, Specialized offered to prove it. You’re on, we said.

Venge ViAS Frame
The Venge frame ($12,500 as shown, $5,800 frame module) is really a module, and one of the most integrated we’ve ever seen. Dedicated parts include the fork, brakes, seatpost, handlebar, and stem. And we mean dedicated: Those parts weren’t merely designed with the frame; it’s impossible to use anything else and they won’t fit on any other bike.

The brakes in particular spur a double-take. They’re direct-pull cantilevers, but the front brakes are turned 90 degrees, perpendicular to the fork blades, and the rear are mounted to the seat tube between the seat- and chainstay.

All the hardware does add about 500 grams to a comparable Tarmac. But Specialized says that on all but the hilliest courses, aerodynamics easily trumps weight savings. The benefit of hiding a couple of square centimeters of cable housing, said Aero R&D Manager Chris Yu, is about the equivalent to 400 grams of weight difference on a rolling course.

Roval CLX 64 wheels and S-Works Turbo Tires

Specialized deepened and widened its CLX 60 carbon clinchers ($2,800; S-Works turbo tires, $55) to maximize aerodynamics around a 24mm-tire profile. The new wheel is more stable in crosswinds despite being deeper.

Designed in conjunction with the CLX 64 wheel, the Turbo tire features a 24mm width in front and 26mm in back, which Specialized says its testing shows is an ideal width for a rear tire. A dual-compound tread with softer shoulders improves cornering grip. Crucially, the claimed time savings isn’t from aerodynamics, it’s rolling resistance—all aero gains are accounted for in the wheels since the wheel and tire is a system.

S-Works Evade GC skinsuit
Specialized is making two skinsuits; the $500 GC version features three rear pockets, and is stitched in the back only, which makes it easier to get into. Hidden seams on the shoulders smooth airflow.

S-Works 6 and Sub 6 shoes
Specialized revamped its S-Works ($400) shoes, moving the Boa lacing dials slightly to improve airflow. And the lace-up Sub-6 version ($325) comes with what will likely be the most-copied aero development: a slim cover for the lace section, dubbed the Warp Sleeve. Specialized is a bit cagier about time savings here given variables like rider pedaling style – hence the “up to” qualifier.

Time savings claimed: 96 seconds compared to a conventional “race-fit” jersey and shorts.

Specialized

The last element of the 5-Minute protocol isn’t actually new: It’s the existing Evade aero road helmet ($250), which Specialized says is good for a 46-second savings over its Prevail road model.

First Impressions

Altogether, Specialized says that the system is over five minutes faster than a conventional setup. That’s an extremely bold claim on its face. There is some amount of wordsmithing there in how they package the aero savings. If you combine any aero bike, aero wheels, skinsuit and aero helmet, the sum total will be quite a bit faster than the sum of each of the alternate options. Specialized’s particular genius here is in combining all that for a single headline figure.

So yes, there’s some marketing there, but it’s not only marketing. For one thing, if you’re going to make bold claims, you need to back them up. Simply providing wind tunnel data that says that X part is faster is getting so de rigeur now that many of us, in the press and broader public, tune it out. For its claims, Specialized went to greater lengths to prove them than any press event I’ve attended in 20 years of doing this.

The protocol went like this: Each journalist (there were 12 total) had a basic bike fit done in advance of the event. We had two bikes set up: a new Venge ViAS and an S-Works Tarmac. We took wind-tunnel readings on both setups to establish drag, and then did a back-to-back road test of each setup on a lightly rolling 19km loop to see whether we were faster. Specialized used a sophisticated data analysis software tool from its partner, carmaker McLaren, to normalize the power output and weather conditions across both runs, essentially stripping out variables so we could see the effect of the equipment itself.

Across my two runs, the Venge setup was 122 seconds faster than the conventional setup, or an average speed increase of 1.74kph (a little over 1mph). That’s significant, especially considering that the actual “conventional” setup we ran was slightly faster than their benchmarks, and since the Sub-6 shoes weren’t available to test, that made the Venge ViAS setup a little slower.

I wasn’t the only one who was faster: All 12 journalists were. Even stripping out the outliers, the average time savings in the group was two minutes over 19km.

After all the science, however, as a rider you’re still left with how a bike feels. The Venge package, to me, felt undeniably faster. Even as the wind picked up slightly on our second run, I could run a gear higher in most situations.

On group rides, the bike had none of the bottom bracket sway that some earlier aero road models had. There’s plenty of snap and verve, and gaps could be closed down quickly, hills jammed up and descents railed. Braking power and feel was solid—enough that you wouldn’t know it’s a direct-pull cantilever. And the geometry and fit were spot on.

But it’s important to note here that Specialized isn’t necessarily targeting the Venge or Cervelo S5 rider. They aim to get riders off normal road bikes and on to aero machines.

I’ve never been much for aero bikes as a category. I feel they generally ride like 2x4s, all brute stiffness and aggression, with zero nuance or road feel. And yes, that includes the current Venge. As a tool, they’re a broadsword where I prefer a scalpel.

The Venge ViAS was the first aero road bike I’ve been on that I actually enjoyed. On a 62-mile road ride, it proved comfortable trading pulls on the gently rolling outward leg, grinding up a climb or hammering an almost 40mph paceline with a tailwind. At one point, grimly hanging on to the back of the line after a pull, I thought to myself: “If I was on a Tarmac right now, I’d be screwed.”

Aero road gear is in some ways a treadmill. Once everyone’s on faster stuff, no one has an advantage; we’re all just suffering at a higher speed. But we’re a long way from that point. I still wouldn’t consider myself a likely aero road bike buyer—especially not at the prices that Specialized has introduced the Venge ViAS at. But I have to admit that there’s an allure here: an undeniable acceptance of the fact that, on this bike, I’ll almost certainly go faster than I ever have.

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